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A squarely traditional yet somewhat progressive Western, The Homesman adds another absorbing entry to Tommy Lee Jones' directorial résumé. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
A frontier farm woman (Hilary Swank) saves the life of a claim-jumper (Tommy Lee Jones) and persuades him to help her escort three insane women to a safe haven in Iowa.
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Rating: R (Sexual Content|Nudity|Some Disturbing Behavior|Violence)
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Genre: Western, Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: Tommy Lee Jones
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Producer: Peter Brant, Brian Kennedy, Luc Besson, Tommy Lee Jones
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Writer: Tommy Lee Jones, Kieran Fitzgerald, Wesley Oliver, Glendon Swarthout
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Release Date (Theaters): limited
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $2.4M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Roadside Attractions
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Production Co: EuropaCorp, Javelina Film Company, Ithaca Pictures
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for The Homesman
Critic Reviews for The Homesman
Audience Reviews for The Homesman
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"The Homesman" is a remarkable western delving into numerous social issues all but ignored by other films of the genre (such as the role of marriage, the church's role in society, women's role in society, and social standing). Very good acting by all players and skilled directing by Jones make this nearly action-free film well worth seeing.
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Bleak, dark, gritty and unwavering, The Homesman takes the Western genre an inputs a dramatic tragedy. It's a film that's well acted, has mature ideas and an authentic feel, yet features a narrative that borders on inaccessible in parts and disjointed in others. In Homesman we find three frontier women driven to insanity from the harsh conditions they face, prompting a need to transport them to care in Iowa from the Nebraska territory. The task falls to the fiercely independent Mary Bee Cuddy, a woman who finds herself a bit too brash for the rest of the townspeople. She soon encounters the somewhat cantankerous George Briggs (Tommy Lee Jones), who accompanies her on the journey. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones, the film does a fantastic job of capturing the brutal nature of frontier life at the time, and the interesting societal and gender dynamics at play. He populates his film with fine performances, especially among the insane women, who give haunting portrayals. His chemistry with Hilary Swank is palpable, and the beginning promising. The frustrating part of the film, however, was its lack of complete narrative coherence. Its exact message is a bit murky, and the main protagonist role shifts from Swank to Jones about 2/3 in to the film. The characterization of Swank felt unfinished, and the motivations of Jones are never really answered. Solid overall, but with scripting problems. 3.5/5 Stars
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The Homesman is a thoroughly depressing experience with little energy. The idea of throwing a feminist and a curmudgeon on a road trip is inspired. But our central duo are not nearly engaging as they should be. It's mostly forgettable except for a few amusing moments. Out of the blue a grizzled Tommy Lee Jones gets up and dances a zesty jig while singing by the campfire. In another scene, he torches a hotel in a spiteful rage and that got my pulse quickening a bit. Oh James Spader's pompous hotelier is another high point in a production that usually operates a constant low. The story is inert. To make matters worse, a late dramatic development just happens abruptly. The perplexing act ostensibly motivated by religious guilt. The script is frustratingly cloudy on that point and when the chronicle isn't vague, it's just dull. fastfilmreviews.com
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In "The Homesman," Mary Bee Cuddy(Hilary Swank) is a self-sufficient farmer in Nebraska territory. However, she aims to change that by proposing marriage to Bob Giffen(Evan Jones), a fellow homesteader, and is turned down flat. Soon enough, Mary and the rest of the town have bigger problems to contend themselves with. Namely, the mental well-being of three local women(Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto and Sonja Richter). It is soon decided to take them back east to Iowa for the care they need and Mary is the one who volunteers to take them. Luckily, for her she finds George Briggs(Tommy Lee Jones, who also directed and co-wrote), a not-so-good man about to be lynched, who agrees to help. For about the last fifteen years, Hollywood has had little idea what to do with Hilary Swank, who like many others who do not fit easily into a simple box. However, with "The Homesman," she gives her own fierce answer in another excellent performance in a western that is relevant to today.(Plus, in an extended cameo, Meryl Streep gives her best performance in quite a while. Faint praise, I know, but still.) What this movie also does so well is detail not so much the physical struggles of surviving on the frontier, but the mental ones as well. So, it is a shame that women are hardly treated any better in the present day.
walter m Super Reviewer
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